Standard Chartered May Be in Hot Water

8/7/2012 6:35AM

Accusations that U.K. bank Standard Chartered illegally handled billions of dollars in transactions with Iranian entities is bad timing for a bank that just announced positive earnings. The WSJ's Deborah Kan speaks to Hong Kong bureau chief Ken Brown about what regulators are calling a 'rogue institution.'

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

... the ... a I get out today but not a good day for U K based banks Standard Chartered which saw its shares fall over twenty percent at one play in the trading day ... over accusations it hid billions of dollars of transactions with the Iranian government ... I'm Deborah con you watching Asia today I'm joined now by Hong Kong Air Chief Ken Brown a K ... and Mr is still evolving on and before we really get into that ... let's just last week and Asia CE and Standard Chartered Ospel vendor that was here in our news brands ... talking still basking in the glory of the six after the successful earnings and Standard Chartered said ... before we talk about this latest ad chapter let's let's roll abide ... in him ... will be between ports consistent with the strategy will impeded now ... and there we go bust into the two of the last ten years ... five years the crisis in five years into the crisis we've been there but sure the color ... and growth the every offer this about the conscripted law ... having its laws to be diverse business that we have led to some posting them ... okay well this certainly does open a new chapter for Standard Chartered so what should we make of this investigation by the new art and state authorities ... well you know it's pretty interesting so ... busy with the alleges preacher magic right billions of dollars in transactions over the course of many years the role of bank they said ... um ... you know ... it's the Newark state regulator so it's ... been a small but of course has had outsized ... you know role because all these banks are based there ... on the interesting thing is you know the DOJ to become a justice in the US the UCC are also looking into this so shows that ... were significant ... probably the most important thing is the market sees this as a very significant blow to the bank ... OK and what would the bigger implications before the bank if indeed they are found to have hidden out of these transactions with the Iranian government ... well so there's ... a number things that happen right so they could be a big fat lie right to HSBC just that with a money laundering by ... suggesting regulators seems like a really focusing on this money laundering stuff ... and and you know ... he's been transactions with an actors and it's funny because in the financial crisis they've been trying to get stuff that reading is opening haven't AOL's ... people and banks for the fractious to cement its reads this ... so they can woo status big fine ... they could lose the right unit poster matic thing to do business ... in New York or in the US in the so you know ... they are a bank that is EU that has a bridges over the world it's one other things as they hit their based in London but almost all their operations are in Asia Africa on so ... the Giannini or because money flows to New York and clients for more money in ad of New York it would be a big blow to them ... okay so what is Standard Chartered saying about all this ... where this is really ... hard ... it seems like they were pretty shock to me ... thanks banks typically were regulated comes to the man says he did some toward banks typically roll over and play dead the day Do whatever the regulator was casino that they're so vulnerable ... they they have really tried to fight back Anita Perry had been in negotiations with some regulators in the US that to really admit that it was and we didn't do this the you misinterpreted it we did ... for fourteen million dollars of love we are transactions over these years not billions and billions ... it's impossible to know at this point ... the cayenne is ... actually not been a very good year for U K banks in the we've had HSBC you with money one day now that Barclays was the live or scandal ... so ... how much I've missed you think is related to the fact that maybe ... there being scrutinized more or is it just a coincidence ... collecting things from the terrible scrutiny and Union regulators can make me he ever wanted for years thanks in no particular popular right now ... the interesting two of those ... scandals wording of ... us in the U S regulators ... on in these banks though ... he think about especially HPC Sutra to operate all over the world they operate in a lot of places with a lot on a client's complicated business ... and Peter Peter B B King keep up with it and in making mistakes because the which seems to be what happens to the charter in Mexico the testing of standards in place ... to be HSBC Mexico start ... um all are ... the China Eagle Creek in the money in these places and have to do dodgy things in this that the regulators would be getting for SKS and it doesn't come at a good time for Standard Chartered given that they were just announcing such positive growth right they they have been the storybook Bank over the past twenty years people are envious of them is always been kissed a takeover target is to have this ... great franchise in all these grown economies around the world ... the few remaining growing economies the world ... so ... yes it's it is a real